As many as 1.7 million people across the U.S. could die as a result of coronavirus according to the New York Times, citing U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An article in the newspaper suggested on Friday that between 160 million and 214 million people in the U.S. could be infected from the epidemic and as many as 200,000 to 1.7 million people could die in a worst-case scenario. The article cited officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and epidemic experts from universities in the report.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced extraordinary measures in his address to the nation from the Oval Office: a unilateral suspension of all flights from Europe to the U.S. and a likely ban on goods and cargo from Europe. However, Turkey, the U.K. and Ireland were exempted from the flight ban.
Trump blamed the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus and claimed that U.S. clusters were “seeded” by European travelers.
The ban targets 26 European countries that comprise a visa-free travel zone known as the Schengen Area. U.S. citizens, green card holders and the spouses or parents of either category are exempted.
